A Him Who Is &Who Was & to Come

It is UH good to be here. UH for for those who don't know me, never heard of me, and I know there's probably a lot of you. I'm introduced as UH as president of of uh A school in Xandria. It's there have been times, but I'm actually UH dealing with the seminary uh A deed of theology at the undergraduate level of the hand of the UH of the Seminary UH the president wol like I said, would be the president of the seminary there and and a lot of people. I've had people come up me and go, man, your English is amazing for me, you know, I'm like, thank you. That happens when you're born and raised in Los Angeles City, spire dire adult life in Houston and uh and and so they go, oh, okay, so so you're American, UH, because yeah, actually I I am. But in two thousand and six I had the opportunity to go to Zambia and preach there. A friend of mine, a guy who the named of Paul Washer, he says to me, there's a guy in Zambia that you need to know. I'm telling you he's your brother from another mother. You need to just know his name is Conrad, and Bewe they call him the Spurgeon of Africa. So and he tells Conrad, Conrad does a guy in the US. You just need to know his name. So Conrad advites me to come and preach in Zambia in two thousand and six at their annual reform Conference. Now you need to understand the people that I'm working with. I'm working with a thirty year old, completely indigenous god honoring Reformed church, planting pastor training movement in Zamia. It's just not American missionaries going to Zambia trying to get something done. My bosses are Zambias and they've been getting done for thirty years. So it's an amazing thing. So I had the opportunity in two thousand and six to go and preach at their annual reform conference, which now has you know, some fifteen sixteen hundred people every year from all over the world. And so I was there when the priests the conference. I went with my oldest son. I'd never been in Africa before. Came back and my wife said, how was it? And I looked at her and I said, but I think I want to be buried there. She just kind of that's okay, And it took eight years, but eight years later the Lord called her as well, and so we're there in twenty fourteen, she and I have seven youngest children and in the middle of you know, two and a half week preaching journeying through through Africa, we're there in Zambia and she comes up to me and says, I think it's I said done for what she goes, we need to be here. That was August two thousand and fourteen, and we moved August two thousand and fifteen and have now been there for two years with our seven youngest children and our oldest two children are are back here. Our first brand maybe is in Jackson, Mississippi. So you know, that's the toughest. That's the toughest part of it, you know, when the when the Grandmigby's back here. But God is good and we are are grateful, and so please pray for us. The university is now and our we're in our second year. We are a a classical Christian liberal arts university. We're offering degrees in agriculture, of business, education, and theology at the undergraduate level. Our first graduate program was our here a seminary program. And so we mk it's it's a needed work, it's an amazing opportunity. And so just please spray, pray. We we believe that God is at work where we are. Zambia is a unique place and God is at work there. I if Africa is going to experience revival of the work is going to be finished there on that continent and we're going to see people coming to Christ. The Gospel's not gonna come from Europe, a man, It's not coming from the north of Us. It's not coming from Europe. It's not coming from the Middle East. Only thing coming from there is is long. But there is a beacon of light and hope down south in Zambia and it is an amazing thing. So so pray for us, Okay, pray for us. Pray that what God is doing in Zambia will continue to grow and and and and maybe maybe, just maybe the Lord terriers and gives us favor. This movement will be what brings the Gospel back to Europe. Hey mane alright, now, ever, your Bible is with you. Over your bibles and open to the last book in the Bible, Book of Revelation, Revelation now, as the the resident of a seminary, I have to do something academic your today. So here's my one academic thing that I would do. I will give you your academic theological lesson for the day. And they would just go in and have church. Al Right, here's your academic theological lesson. So when somebody, you know, somebody's like, yeah, you had to have a seminary preaching, not man, but that was just you know, you can go, Yeah, gave us amazing academic theological lesson that I'll never forget. You're ready. The Book of Revelation has no s on the end of it. They're in the lesson. Remember I did that one time and then I was like, okay, now Revelations chapter I think, alright, chapter one, and you know our thing day is the refremation, and we praise God for the Reformation. Once you make that baby be quiet, you know, that's my eight man corner over there, and ride. Yeah, I got a few of those. You're not gonna throw me off God. So this idea of the Reformation and this tour that I'm on. Now, it's nine days in the US. I leave here tomorrow I go to the UK and seven days preaching there, and there's been like six seven events here in nine days, and then there will be four or five minutes there in seven days, and and all of it. You know this, this question of the record. So as I continue to work through things, through preach through these issues on the Reformation, I think the one thing that keeps coming through the forefront of my mind is the idea of souls Christmas. That Christ was acknowledged. Kimmy said that he was placed anywhere, he was acknowledged. His role was acknowledged properly in the midst of a time when everything was trying to move Christ out of the center. It was as though the Lord said enough, amen, enough, No you don't go to marry enough, No you don't pray the saints enough, know who wear the special clothes? And the point he asks, no, that's not how you get to me. Enough. It is Christ and Christ alone. Amen, holloau. You are praise the Lord Christ and Christ alone. So this morning I just want to make much of Christ. Is that all right? So let's look in Revelation chapter one, Regulation one, and there are numbers in this book that are important. Will go backwards. One of the numbers is important is the number twelve. For example, the number twelve is the number of the people of God, right, twelve tribes, twelve elders, you know, the twelve apostles. So when we see the twenty four elders before the throne, the picture of the people of God from the Old Testament, from the New Testament around the throne, right, representatives of the people of God. The number ten is number of The number ten is a very important number in a relation. The number seven, this number of perfection. Right, you see that number seven again and again and again here in this book. The number four is important and number four is this this number of the earth. Right, So the four corners, the four winds. That's not because Christians believe or have ever taught that the earth was flat. That always amazes me. You know, you had people today, you know, you disagree with something that supposedly settled science. You know now it's always well, you know, these flat earthers, as though Christians used to believe that the world was flat, but science taught us that it wasn't. No Christians anywhere except for some recent occults, ironically and ever believed in or talked the world was flat. Never ever ever, ever, ud think it's number four, four corners, four winds. It's number four. It's the number four of the earth, for the totality of the earth, right north, south, east, west, all of it. So when there's a people for for God purpose, purchase for God from every tribe, kindred, tongue, and nation, what do we have people purchased for God from the totality of the earth? Right? That says that number means the number three. That's that's the number for God. But it's also the number four. What I I can call the rhythm of revelation, right, the revelation Waltz, and a lot of the things in this book that tack that just one two three one two three one two three. So as we look here in chapter one, I want us to pay attention to that second paragraph beginning at verse four. But look at this first paragraph to give us context and also to see this, see this rhythm, the revelation of Waltz, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which wats this God gave him one to show his service to things that must soon take place. He made known by sending his angel to you serve at John. There's two who bore witness right God gave the son made known. John bore witness one, two three What did John, heare witness to well, one to the word of God, two to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and three even to all that he saw one two three, one two three Verse three. Blessed is the one who one reads aloud the words of this prophecy, And blessed are those who two who fear here, and three who key what is written in it. For the time is near one two three, one two three, one two, over and over and over a year. So that number three again is them the number for God, but it's also sort of the rhythm of the text. Now to our passage John to the seven churches that are in Asia, there's that other important number, seven churches that are in Asia. We know that there were more than seven churches in Asia, but this was to seven churches, this number of perfection. These seven churches were in a circular postal route, So this is a number different. This is a a message written to God's Church, to his perfect Church. Grace to you and peace from Him who is, who was, and who is to come from the seventh spirits who are before His throng, and from Jesus Christ the faithful. It's the first word of the dead, and the ruler of the kingdoms on earth, or the ruler of the kings that are to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom of priests to his God and Father, to him glory and dominion forever and ever. I'm in. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him, even saw Amen. Amen. There is a beautiful picture here of worthiness. Christ is worthy. This is a picture of praise, a picture of worship. In fact, these first five chapters of Revelation are really just that. Its worship, it's doxology. It is growing to this crescendo of praise around the throng. But praise for who, Why? Why is he worthy of this praise? Well, look at this first grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was, and who is to come. In the middle of this we have something that is a little confusing. And from the seventh spirits who are before his throne, we'll hold on to that one and then thirdly from Jesus Christ. So we have a picture here for the question in the middle. The question in the middle is to whom or to what this seventh spirits refer here in the middle of this statement, in the middle of this one two three, because it's a one two three. Well, I think this is a question that we get answer pretty simply. And if we understand these numbers, first of all, to him who was and who is to come, believe it's a reference clearly of God's Father. And lastly, there's no confusion at all. That's a reference to God the Son. In the middle, we have a reference to spirits when we have a reference to seventh spirits. Now, seven is the number of perfection, so there is a perfect spirit here. But why seven spirits? Well, another key is that before the throne, Well, if you were to come into this holy place where we worship God, one of the things that you would see was something that had seven parts but was made out of one piece of gold. It's a landstand that had oil in it, which is symbolic of what the spirit of God, the presence of God. So what we have here is a trinitarian formulation. But it's out of order. We used to see from the Father and the Son and the Spirit, but here we see the other of the Spirit and the Son. But there's a reason for that because right now we're about to make much of the sun. But first, because we understand this trinitary information formulation, we understand that this is referring to Jesus as the second person of the Trinity, and first and foremost, Jesus is worthy of our worship because he's God. Amen. Not like God, not close to God, not a great messenger and representative of God. But Jesus is God. He is almighty God. He is the one who spoke the world into existence. And so we owe Jesus our worship. And he is worthy of our worship because he's God, first and foremost. Forget anything else, worship him because he's God. Fact, if he's not God, it doesn't matter what else he's done, because he's not worthy of worship. Amen. Even the angels, they are incredible beings. They always kind of smile when people are around with the little chair, you know, pins on everything. I'm like, oh, that's so wasn't full and cute. Angels are not. When the angels show up in the Bible, the two most common phrases they use are fear not and get up. Amen. Nobody ever goes, oh, you're just so kidding. He's like, well, They follow in their faces like dead men, fear not, but followed by get up. Why, Because no matter how awesome I am, you don't worship me. Worship is for God and God alone, and the angels declare, don't you dare worship me? Jesus received worship gladly and rightly. Why. Because he's the kingdom angels. He's the creator of the angels. He's God. He's God. He's God, and we worship him because he's God. Here's the other thing. It doesn't matter how much homage we want to pay to Jesus, if we make him less than God that has blasphemy and dishonored. We thank God Muslim friends for thinking so highly of Jesus as a most honored prophet. That is not enough. He is not a most honored prophet. He's God, He's God. The people in the New Age movement, they think very highly of Jesus as this spiritually enlightened man who is more enlightened than any other man has ever been. But that's blasphemy. He's not just an enlightened man. He's God. He's God. People all around us want to think highly of Jesus because he was so peaceful, or because he was so insightful, or because he was so whatever. But here's what they're doing. They're looking down the cormridors of history and acknowledging the fact that there is something about this Jesus that is unlikeable anyone else who's ever lived. He's split time in half. People. Amen, When we look at history, we look at it before he came, and since he's come. Amen, he's split time and half. He's the ordinary man. And so people recognize that we must acknowledge the fact that he's no ordinary man. But they stop short of acknowledging who he actually is. And no matter how far you go, no matter how much are your gifted Jesus, unless you cross the line and acknowledge the fact that he is God, you've missed it. You've missed it. It's not enough. Christ is worthy of our worship because he is the God. He's the second person in the trinity. Not only that from Jesus Christ, Well, who's this Jesus. Look look at his Look at his character, the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth first of all, just he is worthy of our worship because of who and what he is. Amen and philosophy, you know, we talk about Jesus the idea of ontology of being right because of his being, but not just because of his being, but what is his being? Emanate? He is the faithful witness. Jesus is the faithful witness. Notice to say a faithful witness. No, he's the faithful witness. And there's two sides to Jesus being faithful witness. Number one, Jesus is the faithful witness because that's all he could be. Amen, he is the faithful witness. That's the only thing that can come from him. As faithfulness, he cannot be unfail He is the faithful witness. But he's also the faithful witness because he faithfully witnessed in his incarnation to who God is. He is the only faithful witness. Who else could have been the faithful witness? What was God going to do? Adam, can you let's find somebody. Let's find somebody and find somebody in head it on her who mattered Adam, No, can't do it? She I Noah, Noah, faithful Witness. No, you preached all those years, you build the art. You Yeah, man, As long as you stay on that side, we're good. But I got out of the good and I'm drunk and naked. Abraham, hey gard Man, after God's all lost, that's sheep sens it? Yeah, my bad? Where do we go? Where do we go? I mean, there's a couple of people in the Bible about whom there is no negative thing written. Shall we running Joseph? Shall we run to Daniel? If you find Joseph and you find Daniel, what they'll tell you is just because my sin wasn't written in the book doesn't mean that I didn't have it, Because all have sin and falls short of the glory of God. There is but one faithful wickedness. He's worthy of our worship because he's God. And he's worthy of our worship because he is the faithful wickedness. Not only you see the faithful Witness. He's the first border of the dead, the first born from the dead. Folks. Last time I checked, the death rate was one per person. Ay Man nobody gets out of this thing alive. It is the lasting and everybody is trying to figure out one clan what is next. There is one who is answered that question. He is the first born from the dead, which means he is pre eminent over death. He has been victorious over death. He is the resurrected one. He is the one who faced death for us and one victory over death, not just for himself, but for all of those who are found in him. He is the one who answers the question in the affirmative, Yes, there is something on the other side, and he is the way through which we get there. The first born from the dead. And we'll hear this, you know, there's always this question that comes from our mind and we're like, wait a minute, the first born from the dead. But in the last of us have been the firstborn from the dead. Well, there's a couple of problems with that problem. Number One, last week didn't experience resurrections like Jesus did. I mean, technically we'd say he was resuscitated. Why, Well, because he died again, Amen, Jesus resurrected. He's never gonna taste death again. By the way that I don't know about you, but I thought about that moment myself. Everybody wants to go to have abody wants to die a man right. Death is the last enemy. Death is not a friend. There is no good death, no such thing as a good death. It is an enemy and never a friend. And none of us wants to go there, get to heaven, Be to Heaven, Be to Heaven. Ain't that the dying part? HM not so much. So here's lascidus. He's not to do that. He's dying, and he's from the Lord. And then Jesus call him back, and at some point he had to think, oh wait, I can't do that again. Jesus will never die again. He is victorious over death, hell and the grave. He rose with all power in his hands. He is first born, pre eminent, and he's worthy of our worship because and every last one of us fears that last enemy. But there is one who has conquered that last enemy on our behalf, and he's worthy of our worship. Amen. Finally, he's the ruler of kings arth he's the king of the kings and the Lord of lords. He's the rule of kings. But he's worthy. I I don't care how high a man rises on earth. He will never rise to the level of Christ. Christ is the ruler of kings or at all of us, any of us who've ever experienced Handles Messiah. You know the Halloween course, vine of us. The first time you experience that, everybody starts standing up, Right, what do we do? I don't we stand up? Man? We can ask somebody why were standing up? Because it's the Halloween course. Okay, while I was standing up on the Halloween course, I don't know because everybody else stands up on the Halloween courts. You know, if you ask that question enough and did you least somebody will tell you had to do that because the first time that this thing was performed, King was actually in the audience and was so moved by Handle's Messiah that during the Halloween course, the King stood up. And when the King stands up, everybody stands up, not everybody about You know why, because there is a king who was higher than he. King Jesus, the ruler kings honor, whether they acknowledge him or not. He is the ruler of kings on earth. So we worshiped him first and foremost because he's God Amen. And now he is a god. He is faithful witness, first born from the dead, and ruler the kings on earth. It's almost overwhelming. It's almost overwhelming. But here's the killer. There's more. Just when we get to the place. I swear we were ready about the need and acknowledge his worth and worship him because he's worthy, He's God. Worship him. Yes, he's the faithful witness. Worship him. Amen, he's the first one from the dead. Worship him. Yeah, he's the ruler of the kings of the earth. Worship him. Put oh by the way, not only because of who he is, but also because of what he's has done. And look at the next part of this. To him who loves us, to him who loves it would be right and true and good to have God grab us by the neck of the neck, throw us down on the ground, and say, worship my son because he's good. Because he's good, because he's faithful witness, firstborn from the dead, ruler of the kings of the earth. You worship him. But that is not what happens here. He is the God, He faithful witness, He is first worn from the dead. He is ruler of the kings of the earth, and he loves me. I don't worship people because I have to worship him because I get to he loves me. He loves me. Listen, there are a lot of people and things love me, but dude, of their love, it's always measured by the magnitude of their person their relationship to me. My dog loves me. Ay Man, got a big old borble. You know what a borble is, just something African master. They were bred to herd lines. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. He's a puppy. He's a puppy. He he he is gonna end up weighing about a hundred and thirty five two hundred pounds. Bad dude. The name is Atticus Finch and Atticus loves me. I get home, he'll wreck stuff, right, He's trying to get to where I am cause he loves me. And I appreciate that, cause that's not the same as my kids love My kids love me. I just love me because I'm feared. Kids love me cause I'm a dad. You know what, That's not the same as my wife loving me. She loved me, she told me, well, you know what, that's not the same as in Jesus loving me, very God, of very God, the one who spoke the world into insistence, who sees me more clearly than my dog, or my kids or my wife ever could, who knows all my stuff, and she loves me. And it's not just mere sentimental love. Look at the other part of the test, and has freed us from our sins by his blood. You ever struggle with whether or not God loves you, you ever doubt whether not God loves you, here is your problem in a nutshell. If you are struggling with God's love, if you are struggling with him racing the idea that God loves you, your problem is that you're looking at you and you need to look at the cross. I just I just don't feel I just don't feel like he loves me. Raise your head, look at the cross, and I don't don't dare you to say that again. I don't care what you feel when you see the cross. When I survey the wondrous cross, always the game of glory died. Huh, my rich is getting I count loss and pour content on all my pride. When you look at the cross, there is no more room for debating whether or not He loves you. He has proved his love for us, and this and that while we were your sinners, Christ die for us, for those of those who are found in Christ. We can never question this, not legitimately he loves me. How do I know? The cross? The cross, the cross. There is nothing more to prove, there is nothing more to demonstrate. There is no other question that remains. That it is seldom it is finished. He's finished. And finally, what's he done? He's made it for us. I came to the priests, to his God and Father. I want you to turn and see one thing here. First Peter Chapter two. First Beeter Tripter two, beginning of verse four. As you come to him in living stone, rejected by men, but in the sight of God shows him and precious you yourselves like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house. Now this is a this is an amazing picture. Here where when you when you were walking along the western wall heading north Virgia toward the fortress of Antonio, this route that Jesus would have walked on the day that he was crucified, walking to the place where he would have been tortured by the soldiers, or before you went outside the fortress, of Antonia to be crucified. There there are these huge stones that lay at the foundation of the temple mountain, the stones the size of small houses. Before you get it into the fortress of Antonia, there's one huge stone that looks out of the place as though there was something about to be done with this stone, and then it wasn't. It's a stone that the builders projected. And if you're Peter following Jesus as he's going along the western walls and the Fortress of Antonia be crucified, you would have passed this particular step as you come to him. A living stone rejected by men, but at the sight of God and shows him and precious you yourselves, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Back in our texts and our relations, his man's kingdom, a priest was gotten fold. So here's the picture. We are actually not worthy to offer the worship that Jesus deserves and demands. We have men of unplean lips, and we live in amomb of people of unplean lips. Whatever we offer's ease efficient. If if you were here today and you are outside of Christ, here's what you need to know. There is nothing that you can offer to God that is acceptable other than your repentance in faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen, there is there is no acceptable worship that can be offered. Think about it this way. You know, when you go from one country to another, oftentimes what you have to do is you have to you have to exchange your currency because your money won't spend there. Amen, you have to exchange your currency. And if you're outside of Christ, think of your worship as you bring in your currency before God. It has to be exchanged or it's worthless. Now here's a terrifying reality. Jesus is God. Worship him. Okay, No, that's not acceptable because you're not acceptable. Jesus is the faithful Witness. Worship him. Okay, I will no, Actually you won't because there's nothing in you that will do it the right way. Jesus is the first born from the dead. Worship him. Oh that I could know what you can. He's the ruler of kids on earth. Bow the knee and worship him. I will, I will no, Actually you won't. But there is one way that your worship can be made acceptable, that you can be made worthy. Christ is worthy of worship. But in order to offer him the worship that he's worthy of, you have to be made worthy. How can that happen? He loved us, He loved us, and he took away our sins by his blood. Christ died for sin, once for all, the just, for the unjust, in order that he might bring us back to God. God made him, who knew no sin, to be sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him. So by his blood, by his blood. And then what does he do? He makes us a kingdom of priests who can now offer and acceptable sacrifices. Christ is so worthy that in his death he makes us worthy, which is just another reason that he's worthy. Worship. Amen. He's God. Worship. He's the faithful witness who worship him. He's the first word from the dead. Worship. He's the ruler of kings or Earth. Worship him. He loves us, worship. He's delivered us from our sins by his own blood. Worship. He has made us a kingdom of priests so that our sacrifices might be accepted worship. He's bored, He's worthy, He's worthy. Worship him? And have you have you come to this worthy Christ acknowledging that he's worthing? Have you come to this worthy Christ acknowledging that you are a desperate need of being made worthy of him? Have you come to this worthy Christ turning from your sin and self reliance and run into him for his love and his forgiveness, to be washed by his blood and to be made worthy? Or are you still observating under the faultiest notion that if you're just sincere enough, or if you just show up enough, or if you're just better than the guy that I'm restrated and smile, that would be enough to make you worry worse? Yet? Are you believing that the way you were raised will make you worthy? Are you believing that the family that you come from will somehow make you worthy? Are you believing that the amount of money that you give to worthy causes will make you worthy? What is it that you are believing it will make you worthy? Because if it's not, the worthiness of Christ is rung. It's wrong. It's currency that doesn't spend you, exchanging ex changing fleet to Christ or He is your only do not dare, but you're open another because he and he alone. It's worthy le's prayer. HM, the or Great and Gracious God, we bowl for you and humility, acknowledging that apart from Christ, there is nothing that we can offer. That apart from Christ, we stand condemned. That he is indeed worthy of our worship, that he's a God, the faithful and true wines is the first born from the dead, the ruler who gives me or he is worthy of our worship. And Father, we bow before you, acknowledging that. But we also bow before you as a grateful people, grateful for the love of Christ demonstrated in the Cross that makes us worthy to offer him worship. Grant by Your Christ, then we might embrace this truth and be embraced by it. Father, I lift up with the one under the sound of my voice who has not fled to Christ, the one who is relying and depending on something other than Christ, that plead with you to open their eyes, remove the skins, break their a for alliance had caused them to see the glory of Christ. Grant I know grace that they might come to repentance and faith, and that Christ may indeed have the fullness of the reward for which he died, for he is indeed working. We asked this his name for his sake. Would you stand with me as we respond to the truth that we've heard